The COVER Protection & Health Summit returns for 2017, this year’s key themes surround moving the industry forward, identifying new opportunities and rising to the challenges presented by the protection and health markets.

However the insurer has not published its income protection claims statistics as it is planning to publish these on an annual basis due to a ‘low number of claims.'

Simon Jacobs, head of underwriting and claims at Aegon UK, said:"One of the biggest myths in the protection industry is that providers don't pay claims.

"This is clearly not the case and as a collective we need to share the positive customer stories demonstrating how valuable the right protection can be.

"While we are extremely proud to have maintained the high level of claims payouts reported in 2016 in the first half of 2017, we continue to focus on providing customers with the best experience at point of claim."

Jacobs said regarding income protection claims statistics: "The low number of claims we receive for income protection can impact the figures dramatically, a single decline can make all the difference.

"So while we are currently paying 100% of income protection claims for the first half of 2017, one declined claim could change that story due to the low volumes involved. This is why we usually only report these figures on an annual basis."

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